My Tiger's Destiny
by WhoGotMerLocked
Summary: What I think will happen in Tiger's Destiny
1. Prologue

**PROLOUGE**

** KELSEY POV**

I was lying in bed staring up at the ceiling. For the umpteenth time, I tried to summon my lightning power. It had been a month since I had been taken by Lokesh, and he had since taken to drugging me at night so I couldn't free myself.

My thoughts drifted to my tigers. I wondered what they were doing and hoped that they were safe. Then, as an afterthought, I knew they probably weren't. At least I had sent back the amulet that Lokesh had wanted from me. Thinking about white and black fur, I fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 1

** CHAPTER ONE**

** REN POV**

Finally! After a month of tracking we had finally succeeded in finding Kelsey!

We broke into the hotel room, and, with our tiger stealth, slipped passed Lokesh, who seemed to be sound asleep. We entered Kelsey's bedroom and she, too, was asleep in a large bed.

Kishan and I walked over to her. "Kelsey, wake up." I whispered and shook her a bit.

"What do you want, Lokesh? I want to sleep." she groaned, not opening her eyes and putting a pillow over her head.

"It's not Lokesh." I whispered.

At that she recognized my voice. She opened her eyes and they went wide with shock. "What the hell are the two of you doing here?" she whispered fiercely.

"Rescuing you, what do you think?" Kishan whispered back.

"Come on, we're getting out of here." I said.

When she didn't make a move to get out of bed, I gasped in shock, "You want to stay here?"

"Of course not. I would rather fight The Hulk and Ironman combined. If you wouldn't mind getting these covers off me please."

I looked at her quizzically. But then Kishan and I each grabbed an end of the covers and pulled them off her.

We gasped. Kelsey legs were bound together, and her hands to her sides with rope; but that's not what froze us, it was the IV cord that was attached to the inside of her wrist and was leading to what looked like a blood bag with clear liquid inside.

I untied the ropes that bound her wrists and Kishan her feet. When Kelsey's hands were free she ripped off the IV.

"Now I can use my lightning power. That was a drug that kept me from using it."

I swept her up in my arms, but before I took one step, I realized she felt much lighter. "Why are you so light?"

She shrugged, "Its called loosing weight, Ren. You can put me down you know."

I ignored her remark. "Kishan, hold her. Doesn't she feel lighter to you?"

I placed Kelsey gently in his arms and he replied that he thought so, too.

"Guys, that's very kind of you to take such notice, but we really should get going. If we stay any longer, Lokesh is sure to hear you and come in and capture you."

That got us going and we snuck out of the hotel and to the car. We drove to where we had the plane. Mr. Kadam came down the jet's stairs and Kelsey ran to him. They hugged and the sight was so peculiar that I started laughing out loud.

"What's so funny?" Kishan asked me.

"A beautiful young woman in short pajamas hugging an old man in a business suit."

Now Kishan started laughing, too and we just watched her for a little while. The joy of having her back was greater than any other feeling! He watched her perfect lips move as she talked with Kadam; her beautiful brown waves bouncing up and down when she nodded; her eyes light up when she laughed. His love for her overwhelmed all else, but when she glanced with a worried expression at them, he dreaded the words that were to come.

They walked slowly up the stairs to the jet and Kelsey climbed into one of the cots and got her probably her first good night's sleep in a month.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

** KELSEY POV**

When I woke, it took me a moment to gather my surroundings. Then I remembered that I was on the jet and I heard Ren and Kishan breathing on either side of me. I looked down and they were both asleep in their tiger forms.

_Oh, how I missed this, _I thought to myself, _how I'm still going to miss it. I can't let myself love them, not until after this is all over or once Lokesh is dead, but not till then._

I slowly got up, careful not to disturb either one of them, and made my way to the window of the jet. I looked out and we were flying over a vast expanse of rainforest.

"Where had he taken me?" I whispered to myself.

"You were in Brazil." I heard Ren say behind me.

"Hmm." I turned around.

"It's good to have you back, Kelsey." Ren started to move closer toward me.

"I wish… I wish… that…" I didn't know how to complete my sentence.

"You wish what?" Kishan asked. I hadn't even noticed him; he came in so quietly.

"I can't do this. Not yet; not till this is all over."

"Do what, Kelsey?" Ren asked.

I looked toward Kishan again. He understood. I could tell from the pained look on his face. But I could also tell he didn't fully understand what I was going to say: he thought I was going to say I couldn't keep juggling both of them; and that I would pick Ren.

"I can't be with you; either of you. Not yet; not till this is all over." I felt my face go blank as I said this. I was shutting out my heart from them and it was one of the hardest things I had ever done. "I'll still love both of you, but I'm only going to be a friend, not a girlfriend. A friend is all I can be right now."

They looked at each other and a strange look passed between Ren and Kishan, and then they looked back at me.

All of a sudden, Kishan had crossed the room and was standing behind me, pinning my arms to my sides. I struggled; I couldn't help it. Lokesh had frightened me so much, even knowing this was Ren and Kishan didn't keep me from trying to wriggle free of Kishan's strong grasp.

"Kelsey, we're not going to hurt you, but we have to know."

Ren came over to me and lifted up my tank to about mid-stomach underneath my un-zipped jacket. It didn't show much, but it was enough to reveal the row of bruises along my waist.

Kishan's hands tightened on my arms and I winced. He noticed and slipped my jacket off my shoulders, revealing another line of bruises trailing down my arm.

The look of savage rage on Ren's face made me tremble. The plane hit some turbulence and I fell into a chair.

I willed myself not to, but I couldn't stop the flow of tears. Kishan sat behind me and started to massage my back and Ren took the hand that wasn't covering my face in his own, both murmuring kind words.

Kishan hit a sore spot on my back and I whimpered. Kishan lifted up my tank, revealing the large ugly bruise on my spine. He motioned for Ren to take a look.

"I am going to kill him." Ren growled.

"What did he do to you?" Kishan asked quietly.

"Torture." I replied.

Ren, who had come back in front of me, exchanged a look with Kishan, who left.

"What's going on between the two of you?" I asked.

He didn't reply and a few moments later, Kishan returned with someone else.

"Nilima!" I cried and ran over to her, throwing my arms around her slight shoulders.

When we broke apart, she said to Ren and Kishan, "Leave us, please."

Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "No eavesdropping." And we were alone.

"Kelsey, I'm so glad you're back!" Nilima said to me.

"Thanks! It's great to see you, too!"

"How are you?"

"Now that I'm back, I'm as happy as could be!" I insisted, but my voice was sad, even I could hear it.

"What makes you sad, Kelsey?"

"I told Ren and Kishan I can't be with either of them. Not till this is all over. Then, and only then, shall I choose."

"Why?" Nilima asked.

"Because, it flatters me that they fight over me, but it is too much to handle right now. I can't do it. I'm also putting it off because… well…" I trailed off, thinking.

"What, Kelsey, you can tell me. Ren and Kishan aren't listening. I hope." Nilima added the last part under her breath.

"Well, I love both of them. If I picked Ren, it would hurt Kishan, but if I picked Kishan, it would hurt Ren. And I can't pick both of them. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if one of them was unhappy, if one of them was hurt. Do you understand?"

"A little, I suppose, Kelsey."

"I had never had a boyfriend before; no boy had so much as ever glanced at me, and I, a boy, until Ren came along. I never thought as myself as beautiful, I was average. And yet, when he and Kishan entered my lives I had men clamoring after me. I still puzzle about why Kishan and Ren are in love with me, when no one had ever noticed me before."

"Kelsey, if I may interject, you are quite beautiful, I'm sure you just did not notice when boys wanted to ask you out."

"Nilima, those are kind words. You are more beautiful than I, though."

"Thank you, Kelsey. As for your decision, when it comes time to choose between the brothers, follow your heart."

"Thank you, Nilima. But both my heart and my mind are torn every which way."

The rest of the plane trip was uneventful. I mostly answered questions about how I was feeling; if I needed anything, and if there was anything anyone could do for me. The answer was no, I didn't need anything; yes, I was fine; no, there was nothing anyone could do for me at the moment, thank you for your concern.

Mr. Kadam came in to talk to me for a little bit. He gave me my journal, and said no one would bother me while I wrote in it.

And then he left and I spent about an hour writing what was perhaps my best poem ever.


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

** Kishan POV**

I silently crept to Kelsey's bed. Everyone was asleep on the plane. I reached for her journal, and opened it. I knew it wasn't right, but I needed to check to make sure there was nothing she was with holding from us.

I looked down at the very last page she had written on. It was a poem; a beautiful poem:

_**WHAT WE WERE**_

___Love… is a story, needs a stranger, some danger, and passion. There must be tons and tons of fashion, but does this make love? What will? What makes love? Love is made of growing smiles, cuddlin' by a fire for a while, and singing and dancing in the rain. Giggles and banters mean no more pain. There is so much more to love then one person can know. They always say it takes two to tango! I've always gotten shy when you walked by, and then I sigh. What a shame my love story is still being written even though each word you utter makes me smitten. Yes, I'm positive now what I feel is love. Can't help it; I feel so much love! For you, your words, your songs, even your birds that sing on your windowsill. I wait until you get home. Yes, I'm all alone until you walk into the living room and you yell surprise and there before my eyes is the girl you say you love. And so because of this, I leave you in your bliss with this girl you love. You kiss, but do you know what love is? The answer to that question is no._

I was so enveloped by the poem that I didn't notice Ren come in.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"Same as you. Anything important in there?"

In response to his question, I passed him the journal. I watched his eyes go wide as he read Kelsey's poem. He obviously didn't know she was so good at writing poems. Neither did I. Granted it was a sad love poem, but beautiful.

"You really aren't supposed to be reading that." I heard Kelsey say.

"We know. We're sorry. Did we wake you?"

"No. I was awake when you came in."

"Oh." I said, followed by and awkward silence, until Ren said: "I guess we'll go now."

We left with the word of her poem still running through our minds.


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

** Kelsey POV**

The rest of the week was boring. We were back at the mansion and it seemed as if everyone was waiting for me to break down and go running to either Kishan or Ren. But I refused to loose myself. I would be strong and independent. I would enjo being a single woman, I told myself.

_Yeah right._

I treated Ren and Kishan as if they were my brothers or my best friends that I had known all my life and loved as though they were brothers. We watched my favorite movies, swam in the pool, picked back up with my self-defense lessons, but all the while I saw them casting side-ways glances at me or each other, as if they thought I wouldn't notice.

One day at breakfast I decided to do something about it.

"Morning, tigers." I said as Ren and Kishan entered the room, in human form (they only had to be tigers now for six hours, which they usually spent in the evenings.)

"You seem extra chipper this morning, Kells." Ren commented, taking a seat at the table.

"I am. I have an idea."

When I didn't say anything, Kishan admonished, "Well, what is it? Spit it out then."

"I think we, meaning the five of us: you two, me, Mr. Kadam, and Nilima, should go out for dinner tonight. Somewhere fancy. We've been cooped up in the house, we should get out and do something."

"I like that idea. We'll go tell Kadam and Nilima." Ren said and he and Kishan left the table.

I sighed after they left. They still thought I was going to have some traumatic fit. Oh well.

At 6:00 that evening, Nilima and I descended the stairs together. She was wearing a silver evening gown and I blue. Our silk dresses were identical except for the color, with a deep dip in the back. Mr. Koorand, Ren, and Kishan were all waiting by the door in suits.

"This is going to be a very interesting night." Nilima whispered to me.

I gave a small laugh and nodded my head in agreement.

The restaurant Mr. Kadam found for us was a very nice establishment. The kind that you think you might find in urban Paris, not busy India. It was of international cuisine, not just Indian.

We ordered, and then ate our appetizers and entrees. Before desert, I excused myself to go re-apply my make-up.

In the bathroom, I was applying my blue eye shadow when I heard a voice behind me.

"That dress is very stunning on you, Kelsey Hayes." A female voice, I was sure.

I whirled around to find behind me a girl. She looked about a year younger than me, but she was taller. She looked agile and thin in black leather pants, combat boots, and a black leather jacket with an asymmetrical zipper. In the crook of her arm she carried a black motorcycle helmet, the kind with the reflective full pull-down visor.

She seemed delicate but battle-worn; as if she had seen the world through warrior's eyes. She was not extremely pale, but was not tan. Her hair, pin-drop straight, falling to right above the middle of her back, framed a face of high cheekbones, long eyelashes, and full red lips.

But these were not her most memorable features. It was her eyes. Her eyes stood out. Against her glossy jet-black hair, her bright emerald eyes shone beautifully.

"My name is Shannon. I want to help you break your tigers' curse."


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

** Shannon POV**

"I don't know what you are talking about." She said, trying to keep her cool.

"Don't play dumb, Kelsey. Don't worry I'm not here to hurt you. Just hear me out, please. I want to help you. I swear by your goddess Durga I am not here to hurt you." I tried to reassure her.

"What could you say that would make me believe you?"

"Look, I want revenge on Lokesh. He killed my family; I'll do anything to kill him. He is after you. If you let me get a stab at him when you kill him, I'll help you in anyway you need."

"That's all. You're just a normal human being who Lokesh just happened to try to kill? I'm getting a sense there's something you're not telling me and I'm not going to trust you until you do."

"You are right, Kelsey Hayes, I am not a normal person. There is something special about me, but I do not think it would be a good idea to discuss it here. I would also like to meet your tigers and your protector, Mr. Kadam, is it?"

"Follow me." She led her out of the bathroom to the table the rest of them were sitting.

All heads at the table turned to us as she sat down and I pulled a chair form the nearest empty table over to sit.

"Picked up a hitchhiker, Kelsey?" Mr. Kadam looked at her, questioning.

"I let her explain herself." Kelsey leaned back in her chair and stared at me, raising an eyebrow.

I sighed, "My name is Shannon, I want to help you break the curse. Lokesh killed my family and I want revenge. As long as I at least get to be there when you kill him, I'll help you break the curse in whatever ways you ask me."

"You still haven't explained why Lokesh killed your family, _Shannon."_ Kelsey accused.

"Kelsey, before your tigers came into your life, you did not believe in gods or goddesses, right?" This was going to be hard to explain. I didn't wait for her answer before continuing. "Well, Indian mythology isn't the only type that is real."

"So you're saying Zeus is watching ever us too?" One of the burly men at the table asked with sarcasm in his voice.

"Ren, right? And the one sitting next to you is Kishan?" I asked, making sure.

From his stunned expression at me knowing their names, I knew I was correct. I answered his question, "That's sort of what I'm saying, except Greek mythology died out a while ago. So did Roman and Norse. Every mythology and every belief in the world is real. But when people stop believing in them, they die out. Beliefs are not born out of the existence of the gods, the gods existence is born out of belief. Durga is so real because Hinduism is still being practiced so widely. When hominids stopped believing in Athena and started worshipping Moses, she ceased to be real and he began to."

_I think I explained that pretty well, _I thought to myself.

They didn't, though, "What does all this have to do with you?" Kishan asked.

"Some people still believe in the Egyptian gods/goddesses, including myself, so they are very much real. Baset, the goddess of cats, has a race of followers that are her descendants. They are called Leons. They, being half human half cat, have some cat characteristics like claws, night vision, cat-like speed, smell, hearing, and reflexes. They're protectors of humans and constantly in a raging war with the descendants of Anubis, the god of the dead. That was all until Lokesh wiped them out. I was the only one who survived."

"Uh… So, um…" Ren was going to say something but did not finish.

"How did you survive?" Kelsey asked so softly that only Ren, Kishan, and I could hear her ask.

I lowered my voice as I answered, too, "I was on a mission when he came and destroyed our cluster of towns and everyone inside them. The only thing he wasn't able to destroy was Baset's shrine, which has magical protection. We were a mostly peaceful race. You would be hard-pressed to find someone more skilled at fighting than our warriors, but still we preferred the path of peace."

"But you said you were in a war with the descendants of Anubis?" It was the first time I had heard the other woman at the table speak.

"Your Nilima, correct? That war was less of a war and more of a centuries-old long feud. But now there is no feud. I don't know if any Canidians survived Lokesh."

"Mr. Kadam? You haven't said anything, is something wrong?" Kelsey asked him.

"No. I think it's safe to say we trust you, Shannon Leon."

After Kadam made his announcement that they all could trust me, he asked, "Are you hungry, Shannon?"

"I haven't eaten more than a few mice for the past few days, and I'm famished."

The group just looked at me.

"Just kidding," I chuckled.

They laughed along with me and Kelsey called the waitress over so I could order something for myself.

"I'll have some Baba ghanoush, please."

"Is that all?" The young woman asked.

"Yes thank you." Then as if an after thought: "Actually, some garlic pita, too, if you will."

"Yes, ma'am." The waitress left.

"How old are you Shannon?" Nilima asked me.

"I'm seventeen. It was two years ago, when I was fifteen, that Lokesh wiped out the Leons."

"What have you done between then and now?" Kelsey leaned toward me.

"Mostly found out all I could about you, Lokesh, the curse, and the Damon Amulet. I've also been studying." I replied. It felt nice telling them about my life, like I was lifting a weight off my shoulders.

"Studying what?" Kelsey asked me.

"Let's just say I know how to use more weapons than my enemies would want to count."

"I wanted to know abou-" Ren started to ask a question, but anything else he was going to say was lost as my food arrived.

After my first bite I said, "It's almost as good as my mom's."


	7. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

** Kishan POV**

After Shannon was done with her food, we left the restaurant. Beside our Mercedes was a shiny, black Harley Davidson.

"Nice bike," I commented

"Thanks." She smiled, "Been driving it since I was, oh, fourteen years old."

She pulled on her black leather biker gloves. And started to bunch up her black hair so she could put on her black motorcycle helmet.

"You're into black, huh?" Kelsey pointed out.

"Black's my color. But the hair's natural."

She swung her leg over the bike, rather sexily, I thought, but then reminded myself that I couldn't be thinking those things, my heart belonged to Kelsey.

As she got settled on her bike, we all climbed into the car. Revving her engine, she followed us back to the house.

When we arrived, Kadam told her where her room would be and asked her if there was anything she needed before we called it a night.

"I would like to go and get my stuff from the hotel in town that I had been staying at, if you don't mind. I'll be back with in the hour."

"Sure. Either Ren or Kishan will go with you, to help you with your stuff."

"That is most kind of you, but I can do it myself."

"I insist. Ren is upstairs already, so Kishan will go with you." Kadam pressed her.

"Well, if you insist…" Shannon conceded.

"I'll get my bike from the garage. Meet me out in the circle." I said to her.

As she left the house, I noticed she left her helmet on the counter. I went to the garage and pushed my motorcycle from the garage, leaving behind my helmet, too.

I swung my leg over my bike and pulled up slowly behind her.

"Lead the way," I said, and she took of, her black hair trailing behind her in a wave. I followed her and then speed up so I was on her side, not behnd her.

In about 20 minutes we arrived at her hotel. After parking the motorcycles, we went inside. It wasn't a terribly expensive hotel, but not shabby either.

"How long have you been living here?" I asked her, looking around as we stepped into the elevator.

"A month or two. Before this, I was in Oregon, then before that: Hong Kong, time before that was a monastery in Thailand, before that was Moscow, which had followed Greenland, which had followed Rio, which had come after Buenos Aires, and so on."

"You've been a lot of places." I summarized.

Before she could say anything, we arrived at her pent-house room.

It was very organized and looked as if it was where an army-officer lived. The sheets of the bed were pulled up and tucked in, there were no bags or clothes strewn about the room, and I wondered whether it clashed or harmonized with her biker personality.

"You are very orderly." I commented.

"Yes, I am." She replied.

From under the bed, she pulled two suitcases, one regular sized and one kind of small, a backpack, and what looked like a very thick briefcase. She set them on the bed and started to pack her clothes and belongings in the suitcases and backpack, but I noticed she left the briefcase untouched.

"What's in the briefcase?" I asked.

"Weapons." She replied simply.

She clearly wasn't going to elaborate any further, so I changed the subject, since she was done packing.

"I'll take the suitcases and strap it onto my bike, and you can take your backpack and your weapons."

So we headed down stairs and I waited by the door while Shannon checked-out at the front desk.

When we got back to the motorcycle, she started strapping her weapons case to her motorcycle with expert hands. I didn't know how to do it, so I just lost myself in the movement of her slender fingers.

When she finished and just noticed me staring at her, she laughed and said, "Does the big-muscled man who rides a big motorcycle not know how to strap things to his bike?"

"I did just get this motorcycle and learn to drive it a few months ago, so give me a break." I smiled back at her.

"Let the professionals handle, babe." She walked over to my side of my bike and nudged me out of her way with her hip. I moved and watched her strap her suitcases on my bike.

She finished and we swung out legs over our bikes, and headed back to the house.

As we drove, I let myself glance at her a few times: her black hair streaming out behind her in a wave. The way she had a slight smile on her lips, as we rounded tight corners or went fast. Then I checked myself.

_You can't think things like that, _one part of me thought, _You love Kelsey, and your heart will belongs to her always._

But then the other part, the more practical one thought, _You know she's going to pick Ren, you can love someone else._

The hopeful side countered: _There is a possibility she will pick me. She stayed with me even when Ren regained his memory._

Before my reality-based side could make another argument, we arrived back at the house. I got of my bike and let Shannon unstrap her suitcase from it before I pushed it into the garage.

I watched her unstrap her weapons case from her motorcycle and I told her she could push it into the garage and I'd bring her suitcase up to her room for her.

"Thank you very much. You all are so kind." She thanked me.

I left her to bring her bike inside the garage and went upstairs to place her suitcase at the edge of her bed.

Then I settled down on the couch, thinking.


	8. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

** Kelsey POV**

I arrived at breakfast the next morning somewhat late.

"Good morning, Kells." Kishan said to me. I sat down across from him and Ren.

"Where's Shannon?" I inquired.

"She's in the training room, working out." Ren replied, "She wants to take over your training."

"Why?" I asked.

"She wants to teach you some of the things she knows. I personally think it would be very helpful for you, especially since she is your size after all," Kishan said.

"Hardy har-har," I muttered under my breath.

After eating my cereal I made my way to the training room and found Shannon in a tank top and yoga shorts hanging from a series of ropes and pulleys.

"Hello up there!" I shouted to her.

"Hello down there!" she replied, "Do you see that cord on the far wall?"

"Yeah."

"Would you mind pulling on it for me. I can't seem to be able to swing myself over there."

I walked over to the rope and pulled. The cords around her ankles released and she tumbled. I shrieked as she fell. But she landed nimbly in a crouch position. _Like a cat, _I realized.

Her hair was pulled up in a pony-tail, but it still made it to about mid back.

"You've got beautiful hair and eyes," I complimented.

"Thanks." She replied.

For the next week I worked with her for self defense and then did research with Mr. Kadam in the evenings. Shannon even helped me with my bow and arrow usage and we became very good friends.

One day at breakfast, however she said to us all, "I need to show you something."

"What is it, Shannon?" I asked her.

"Come with me," she led us into the library, "Have you ever noticed a slight change in my eyes. Like a flicker of something and then it was gone?"

"Uh, no." I replied curious as to what she was getting at.

"I have," Kishan spoke up

"Well I'm about to tell you what it is."

She told Kishan to sit across from her and look into her eyes. The she asked him whether he liked to draw, compose music, write, etc.

"Not really."

"Well that puts a drawback on things, but lets just say you were writing something down on a piece of paper. And then you erase it. You know how it looks when you slid the eraser across the paper and whenever it passes over a section over your paper the writing is gone?"

"Um, yeah?" Kishan answered uncertainly.

"Good, now imagine you are erasing my eyes."

Kishan didn't do anything for a second, but then he exclaimed, "Shannon your eyes, they're like… Kells see for yourself."

I took Kishan's place, looked into my friend's eyes and did what she had told Kishan to do. And then instead of just normal circular pupils, they were slits like a cats surrounded by green that was perhaps even more brilliant now.

"My god!" I cried, "They look like a cat's!"

Then I swapped places with Ren and she repeated the same process with him. After she was done, he moved back to where he was sitting, next to me on the couch. I had Kishan on my other side, and she sat across from us in the armchair.

"When we first met, you said you had claws, too. Can we see?" I asked.

She held up her left hand and we stared at her fingers. At first nothing happened, but then her nails grew longer and the tips sharpened into points.

"How sharp are they?" Ren inquired.

Not saying anything, Shannon drew her claws over her right forearm, drawing blood. As we watched, the gashes on her arm sewed themselves up, leaving nothing but faint pink lines where they were.

"Am I the only one without fast healing around here?" I asked indignantly.

Shannon laughed before responding, "I guess so."

"You also said that you have cat-like speed and reflex-" before Kishan was finished, Shannon had flown out of her chair and was standing on one foot on the edge of the back of the chair she had been sitting on. The she somersaulted into the air and was behind me, balanced on the other foot.

"Wow, cool," I admonished, and Shannon, jumped back into her own chair.

"Thanks," she replied with a smile.


	9. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

** Shannon POV**

I studied Kelsey closely. She acted all composed; she acted as though her time with Lokesh was in the past and she had already forgotten about it. But she hadn't. For someone like me, who's had years of training and knows how to read a person, you can see instantly she is _not okay._

"Ren, Kishan, could you leave us for a moment, I need to speak to Kelsey alone," I requested of them.

The two men looked at Kelsey, and she nodded telling them it was okay for them to go. Did they seriously think I was going to hurt her?

"Oh, and before you go," they stopped in the doorway looking back at me, "I will know if you are listening. No eavesdropping. Understood?"

"Yes," they mumbled, and left, closing the door behind them.

I waited a few seconds before looking back at Kelsey. "What is it, Shannon?"

"I'll tell you as soon as your tigers take their ears of the door and leave."

I heard the two devious boys mutter, "Damn, how can she hear us, we're not even doing anything loud."

"I can hear your heartbeat and you breathing." I called to them.

"You have to teach us that sometime," they said through the door, knowing I could hear them.

"Will do. Now, scram." This time, I heard them move away from the door, and a few minutes later, Kelsey and I could both see them out on the field through the window.

"How are you doing?" I said finally turning my attention back to Kelsey.

She immediately tensed.

"Don't' worry, I know your strong. I know your not going to break. I see, as I'm sure you do, the way your tigers watch you as if they think your just going to snap and break down and go running to one of them. I know you are stringer than that. But that doesn't mean you aren't hurting inside. And you can talk to me about it. I know what you are going through. I can help you, I know how to get through this. You just have to open up to me. I swear, I will tell Ren and Kishan nothing of this; everything you say will remain confidential. I can help."

"Thank you for your concern, but I don't need a therapist," Kelsey said bitterly, getting up and walking toward the doorway.

Right as she was about to leave, I whispered, loud enough for her to hear, but still a whisper, "Would it make any difference if the therapist had gone through what you have gone through? The kind of torture that you endured?"

This made Kelsey pause in the doorway and look back at me. "Come with me," she said, and I followed her into her bedroom.

"What happened to you?" she asked me, sitting down on her mattress.

I sat down next to her, "I was on a mission. One of my crew screwed up, clipped the wrong wire disabling the alarm system of a Canidian's base. The whole plan fell apart. It was my first time leading a mission, but I was able to get my whole crew out of the base in time; all but myself. I was tortured for weeks, until I finally was able to escape. So I know what you've gone through. I can help you put it behind you."

"How?" Kelsey questioned.

"There are two ways. The first way is the most recommendable: pick someone you trust and then talk to them. Tell them everything that's bothering you. Trust me, it may seem like bogus, but it really feels like your lifting a weight of your shoulders. It doesn't have to be me, just anyone you trust not to tell somebody else. The second way is the way I choose to do it. I got paper and pen and wrote down my whole experiences with the Canidians. And then I burned the pages."

In then end, Kelsey decided to talk to me. She poured her heart out, told me all her secrets, everything she was scared of, hoped for, sad about, everything.

"Thank you for trusting me with your innermost feelings," I said to her.

"I trust you completely, Shannon."

"Call me Shane."

"I have something I want to show you," Kelsey got up off the bed and grabbed her journal, flipping to a certain page, "Here read these."

And I read her poems, knowing I was the first to see these. They were beautiful.

_**MY LIE**_

_ I love you. Those were words spoken, but now hearts are broken. You lied to me, but I gave you as second chance. Thought you were good for me, but it was just a drama/romance. I aw you with her that Friday night . Yeah, I saw her kiss you, and you didn't put up a fight m but I acted like I didn't know. I waited for you to tell me, but no. So on that Saturday night, my lie was this: that I was over you, that I hated you, this date that we're on was agreed to, to see you one more time. Cause you love her: I can see it in your eyes. And you also loved me, but you needed to make a choice, but since you couldn't, I did for you. I no longer wanted you, that I was wrong to love you. But these are all more of my lies and as I drive away I sigh._

_**THIEF**_

_ You stole my heart. Why'd you take it? I'm sorry and I'm not, 'cause you're a thief and I'm not. Make you pay, make you cry, 'cause I'm mature and your, like, five. Make you sorry, 'cause all you are is the thief of happiness. You're a thief, you're a liar, gonna get back at you. You're a liar; you set my heart on fire to erase any trace of you. Don't wan to let anyone know you've been here, huh? Yes, you left me and accidently took my heart with you, but who cares? You're still a thief._

_**YOU**_

___Screaming: why can't I stop feeling all this love for you? Shouting. The face I make is a pouting one because I can't let you go. But I want desperately to be rid of you. You're cruel and rule the school. Now everyone is on your side. But it's just because they can't see the light in the darkness, in your shadow. I too was once blinded by that dark curtain of yours; used to think it was so much safer behind those closed doors. And now I know so much better than I did before, in the beginning. I am wondering: can you hear? My heart is thundering so loudly. You thought you could have us both, but if it's her you want, you can't have me. Sorry baby, but no longer am I as scared as I was before. You can stop saying sorry, because your words can't reach my ears, but like a hook, the yank out silent tears. Yes, they come from my heart, but you tore that apart, too. But I am beginning to forget about you._

_**Love Is Lightening**_

_Love is lightening, striking down from above._

_Finding a victim and leaving them scarred._

_Love is lightening, the hand of God. _

_The right or left, no one can be sure._

_Love is lightening, leaving one changed. _

_Love is lightening, a beautiful sight to see._

_Love is lightening for better or for worse. _


	10. URGENT MESSAGE

Dear readers,

After close inspection of this story, I have decided to re-do it. The new version will have Shannon not as an Egyptian mythology person, but Chinese. The way it is now, I feel like it's too much like _Chloe King_. The new version will be posted in a couple of days, exactly the same except for Shannon's back round and maybe her name.

Thxs!


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